D'amour ou d'amitié

"D'amour ou d'amitié" (meaning "Of Love or Friendship") is a song by Canadian singer Celine Dion, recorded for her French-language album, Tellement j'ai d'amour... (1982). It was written by lyricist Eddy Marnay and French composers Jean Pierre Lang and Roland Vincent. "D'amour ou d'amitié" was released as a single in France in December 1982 and in Quebec, Canada in April 1983. "The song became a commercial success, topping the chart in Quebec and reaching top ten in France. It was also certified Gold in both countries, making Dion the first Canadian artist to receive a Gold certification in France. In 2005, "D'amour ou d'amitié" was included on Dion's greatest hits album, On ne change pas.

"D'amour ou d'amitié"
Single by Celine Dion
from the album Tellement j'ai d'amour...
ReleasedDecember 1982 (1982-12)
RecordedJuly 1982
StudioFamily Sound, Paris
GenrePop
Length3:59
LabelPathé-Marconi
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Eddy Marnay
  • Rudi Pascal
Celine Dion singles chronology
"Tellement j'ai d'amour pour toi"
(1982)		 "D'amour ou d'amitié"
(1982)		 "Mon ami m'a quittée"
(1983)

Background and release

In 1982, Eddy Marnay discovered a melody written by Jean Pierre Lang and Roland Vincent and wrote lyrics for it, creating "D'amour ou d'amitié".[1] He wrote about awakening to love and crossing the barrier from friendship to romance.[1] The song was recorded at the Family Sound Studio in Paris in July 1982 and produced by Marnay, assisted by Rudi Pascal.[1] Pathé-Marconi released it as a 7" single in France in December 1982, with "Visa pour les beaux jours" on the B-side.[2][3]

In January 1983, Dion represented Canada as revelation of the year at Midem in Cannes.[2] She performed "D'amour ou d'amitié" in front of 3,500 music professionals.[2] After that, RTL radio station decided to make "D'amour ou d'amitié" their favorite song and played it several times a day.[2] Soon, other radio stations in France followed suit.[2] Few days later, Dion performed "D'amour ou d'amitié" on Michel Drucker's popular TV show, Champs-Élysées.[2] In April 1983, Pathé-Marconi also released "D'amour ou d'amitié" as a 12" maxi-single with two more songs.[3] The same month, a 7" single was issued in Quebec, Canada by Saisons.[4] It was the second single from Tellement j'ai d'amour..., after "Tellement j'ai d'amour pour toi". In early 1984 in Germany, Dion also released a German-language version of "D'amour ou d'amitié" titled "Was bedeute ich dir".[3] The B-side included "Mon ami, geh nicht fort", a German version of "Mon ami m'a quittée".[3] Dion never performed "Was bedeute ich dir" live but she sang a couple of lines of that song several times when she talked with the audience during her concerts in Germany like in Berlin on June 24, 1997 during her "Falling into you around the world tour" or in Stuttgart on June 16, 2008 during her "Taking chances world tour".

Commercial performance

"D'amour ou d'amitié" became Dion's first commercially successful single. In France, it reached number five on the chart in the summer of 1983 and was certified Gold on 1 September 1983 for selling 500,000 units.[5][6] By the end of 1983, the single has sold over 700,000 copies in France.[7] Dion also became the first Canadian artist to receive a Gold certification in France.[8] Following this success, she released her first album in France in September 1983, Du soleil au cœur, which featured songs taken from Dion's two albums previously issued in Quebec, Canada.[9]

The song also became a hit in Quebec, where it entered the chart on 7 May 1983 and topped it for four consecutive weeks in July and August 1983.[10][11] It spent forty weeks on the chart in total and was certified Gold in April 1985 for selling over 50,000 copies in Canada.[10][12]

Accolades

Thanks to "D'amour ou d'amitié", Dion won the Félix Award for Artist of the Year Achieving the Most Success Outside Quebec.[13]

Track listings and formats

Charts

Certifications and sales
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[12] Gold 50,000^
France (SNEP)[6] Gold 700,000[7]

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history
Country Date Format Label Ref.
France December 1982 7" Pathé-Marconi [3]
25 April 1983 12"
Canada 7" Saisons
Germany 1984 EMI

References
  1. Georges-Hébert Germain (1998). Céline: The Authorized Biography. Dundurn Press Limited. p. 119-122. ISBN 1-55002-318-7. d'amour.
  2. Georges-Hébert Germain (1998). Céline: The Authorized Biography. Dundurn Press Limited. p. 137-139. ISBN 1-55002-318-7. d'amour.
  3. Céline Dion en concert (Canadian tour book). Celine Dion. TBS. 1985.CS1 maint: others (link)
  4. "Compilation des succès par ordre alphabétique d'interprètes" (in French). BAnQ. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  5. "Les Chansons Classées par Points des Années 80" (in French). InfoDisc. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
  6. "Les Certifications depuis 1973" (in French). InfoDisc. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
  7. Georges-Hébert Germain (1998). Céline: The Authorized Biography. Dundurn Press Limited. p. 143. ISBN 1-55002-318-7. d'amour.
  8. E. Sleeman (2001). The International Who's Who of Women 2002. Taylor & Francis Group. p. 143. ISBN 978-1-85743-122-3.
  9. "Du soleil au coeur". celinedion.com. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  10. "Québec Info Musique: Céline Dion". Québec Info Musique. Retrieved 2 September 2014.
  11. "Numéros 1 par ordre chronologique" (in French). BAnQ. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  12. "Canadian single certifications – Celine Dion – D'amour Et D'amitie". Music Canada. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
  13. "Gala de l'ADISQ - 1983". ADISQ. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  14. D'amour ou d'amitié (Canadian 7" single liner notes). Celine Dion. Saisons. 1983. SNS-6524.CS1 maint: others (link)
  15. D'amour ou d'amitié (French 7" single liner notes). Celine Dion. Pathé Marconi EMI. 1982. 2C 008-72653.CS1 maint: others (link)
  16. D'amour ou d'amitié (French 12" single liner notes). Celine Dion. Pathé Marconi EMI. 1983. 154500 6.CS1 maint: others (link)
  17. D'amour ou d'amitié (French 12" single liner notes). Celine Dion. Pathé Marconi EMI. 1983. SP1227.CS1 maint: others (link)
  18. Was bedeute ich dir (German 7" single liner notes). Celine Dion. EMI. 1984. 1 C 006 2002077.CS1 maint: others (link)
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